Nomad's Requiem: A Runescape Adventure
by NoodleGorillaz23
Summary: Ryuu Galagost is suspicious of Nomad at Soul Wars. When he meets an elf, Redwing, he wonders- could she be the one who could help him in this seemingly hopeless quest? Read,enjoy, and don't forget-review!
1. Two Problems

Ryuu Galagost was a Varrock guard. He had lived in the beautiful city for many years, ever since he was a little boy.

He did the usual things a guard did- guarding the city and making sure there was peace and order.

But lately, the town was frequently being attacked by Seruso Zetculo, an evil mage, and her followers.

She was a very high level, and defeating guards was a piece of redberry pie for her. She wore a hood into battle, but every time she took it off, Varrock was already defeated, for her face was so beautiful that all the warriors fell at her feet.

Even though he hated the mage like demons hated Silverlight, he had other things on his mind.

He had heard about some problem at Soul Wars, something about the man Nomad. He had always been suspicious of him, ever since he had seen him. His very _face_ was suspicious. Ryuu intended to solve and finish this mystery once and for all.

'Ryuu!' yelled somebody. 'Zetculo is back!'

Ryuu picked up his sword and shield. He sighed. What did a mage want with _them?_

He put on his armour and clunked down the stairs to the gates of Varrock.

There, he saw a group of dark wizards. At their head was a hooded woman.

Seruso Zetculo.

She smiled at them. Her eyes of clear blue glittered evilly.

'The battle is already over, my dear guards.' She said.

She pulled her hood down.

Immediately, the warriors fell at her feet. A golden glow seemed to surround her.

Suddenly, it stopped.

The mage staggered and dropped to her knees.

Somebody had hit her from behind with a spell.

The one who had done it was standing right behind her.

Her raven hair had the side-part-long hairstyle, with an uneven fringe. She wore strange armour and carried a sword in her hand. On her belt was a dagger.

She stared at them with forest-green eyes.

But strangest thing about her was her ears. They were pointed and tapered.

Who exactly was this woman?


	2. Fiery Rivera

Everyone stared back at the woman.

Finally, Ryuu pushed his way through to the front of the crowd.

'Who are you?' he asked. 'Why did you save us from Seruso Zetculo?'

The woman answered in a low voice that reminded Ryuu of the rustling of leaves, the gurgle of a stream, the- wait a minute. Since when was he a poet?

'I am Rivera Renwyn, also called Fiery Rivera and Redwing by my people. I am an elf from the far away land of Tirawn.'

Ryuu scratched his hair and replied, 'Tirawn? Heard of it, but never been there before. So, what would an _elf _want with us?'

'I came here to search for a human by the name of Ryuu Galagost and a woman called Aria Sorenlensa. I believe they could help me solve a problem I have.'

Ryuu gulped. Could the elf _really_ mean him? There were certainly no other people by the name Ryuu that he knew of.

'I-I'm Ryuu.' He stuttered.

Rivera looked at him in surprise.

'Well, that's good. I've found one of the people I seek. By any chance, would you know Aria?'

Ryuu did know her. She was a woman intent on joining the Varrock guard, but she wasn't accepted as the captain said, 'It ain't a woman's job, guardin' a city and the like. Best they sit at home cookin', eh?'

Aria had promptly punched the captain in the face, which didn't really convince him to accept her.

Ryuu liked her very much- he even had a little crush on her. Okay, not a little one. A _**huge**_ one.

'Um, yeah, I know her. Er- would you like me to take you to her?'

Rivera nodded.

'I would like to meet her, but I am weary and would like a place to rest. Do you have an inn in this town?'

'Uh-sure we do.' Said Ryuu, uncertainly. This woman wasn't really secretive or anything, like he had imagined the elves. 'I'll take you there. Follow me.'

Before leaving, the woman turned to the guards and said, 'I would appreciate it if all of you would not tell anyone that I am an elf. If you are asked, just say that I am another adventurer who has come to explore.'

With that, she pulled a hood over her head and nodded at Ryuu.

'Let us go.'


	3. Meeting Aria

Ryuu yawned and stretched his hands high over his head.

It was sunrise, a bit earlier than he usually woke up. The elf woman-what was her name? Rivera?-had told him to come and meet her. Today, he was going to take her to Aria's house.

As they were visiting _Aria_, Ryuu had to prepare himself. Maybe he would wear a helmet, or a hood-Aria wouldn't see him blushing. And he would take a big cake, or some pie, or a nice big bunch of flowers….Or a really expensive gold necklace, or a bracelet….

'_Stop dawdling, you fool! Didn't I tell you to come as swiftly as possible?'_

'_YOW_!' yelped Ryuu. A little voice had spoken in his head!

'_I am on the top floor. Don't bother eating anything before you come; I've got food with me.'_

Only then did Ryuu recognize the elf's voice. How did she do that? Maybe she would teach him if he asked nicely.

'O-okay, coming!' he stammered, wondering if she could hear him.

He took a bag, put his helmet inside, and slung it over his back. Then, he got dressed and rushed down the stairs, almost tripping.

When he was outside, he picked enough flowers for a bouquet. As he made his way to the Blue Moon Inn, he wondered if Aria would like the flowers, or if she would have preferred roses instead of daisies, or if he looked handsome enough…..

He stepped into the inn and went up the stairs leading to the top floor.

There, the elf was waiting for him. She acknowledged his presence with a slight nod. Then she said, 'Come, you must be feeling hungry. Eat how much you want; you need it more than I do.'

Ryuu, as a matter of fact, _was_ quite hungry. There were berries, bread and jam, fruits and vegetables.

As he ate, the elf watched him. Ryuu felt a bit uncomfortable. It was as though her green eyes pinned him in place and burned through his soul.

To break the ice, he said 'You told us that you had many names or something yesterday. What were they again?'

'Rivera Renwyn is my real name. My people call me Fiery Rivera, because of my fury in battle. Some call me Redwing, because of my speed, and because my last name means redwing. You probably wouldn't understand, but redwing literally means speed in Elvish.'

Ryuu felt a bit confused. 'So, what should I call you?' he asked.

'Whatever you feel like calling me.'

_That_ confused him even more. He decided to call her Redwing, since that was the only name he remembered.

'I'll call you Redwing.' He told the elf.

She nodded and stared outside, waiting for him to finish.

When he did, they both stood up, ready to leave for Aria's house. To Redwing's surprise, Ryuu pulled on his helmet and took out his bunch of flowers.

'What are you doing?' she asked, looking puzzled.

'You'll understand soon enough.' He mumbled, feeling embarrassed. He probably looked ridiculous.

He trudged downstairs, Redwing trailing behind him. She had put on her hood so that nobody would notice she had pointed ears.

When they reached Aria's house, Ryuu knocked on the door with a shaking fist. To his horror, Aria opened the door instead of her elderly mother.

'Hello, Ryuu!'She said, smiling.'Um-why are you wearing a helmet?'

'Uh-ummmm….Oh! Um, uh, I wore it so that enemies can't hit me with stones! You never know when one might hit you in the head.' Said Ryuu, tripping over each word. Then, rather shakily, he thrust the flowers at Aria. 'Th-these flowers are f-f-for y-y-you!'

Redwing was staring at him with a look on her face that clearly said, '_Have you gone mad_?'

Aria accepted the flowers with a huge smile on her face. 'Thanks, Ryuu! They're beautiful! I just _love_ daisies.'

Then she turned to Redwing. 'Who's this?' she asked.

'I would prefer it if we had this conversation where nobody would hear us.' replied Redwing.

'Oh, sure!' said Aria, looking a bit surprised. 'Come inside; no one would hear us there.'

She ushered Ryuu and Redwing inside. Before shutting the door, she looked outside-and a horrified expression appeared on her face.

'What is it?' asked Redwing, who had noticed. Ryuu had gone in and plopped down on a comfortable armchair.

'It's _him.' _murmured Aria. When Redwing took a look, she saw two men standing some distance away. One had brown hair and a rather nervous expression on his face. The other one had blonde hair and was smiling at Aria. He held a simply _gigantic_ chocolate cake and two necklaces-one ruby and one emerald.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She winced.

'The blond one is Smith Terrison.' Said Aria. 'I don't know the other one's name, but Smith keeps trying to get me to like him. He doesn't stop- almost every day, he comes with his arms full of gifts for me, but I know he doesn't really love me.'

Though you couldn't see her face clearly, Redwing had turned red with anger. She felt that Aria was a good and honest woman, and had liked her immediately. She couldn't bear the thought of this man bothering her.

So, to Aria's surprise, she strode out the door and made her way towards the men.

She stopped in front of Smith and planted her feet firmly into the ground.

'Stop bothering Aria!' she said angrily. 'She doesn't like it when you bring her gifts, and she doesn't like _you.'_

Smith sneered at her. 'And what are _you _going to do about it?' he said, smirking. 'Who are you, anyway?'

Then, Redwing did a shocking thing.

She pulled down her hood, revealing her pointed ears!

'I am Redwing, an elf! She shouted. 'As well as Aria's good friend! And what am I going to do about it, you ask?'

Then, she gave Smith such a strong punch that he fell down. The chocolate cake splattered everywhere, and the jewelry clinked as it hit the ground as well.

'Clear off!' she told Smith.

His companion was staring at Redwing with his mouth open like a fish, and he had turned slightly red. Then, Smith grabbed his shoulder and dragged him off, covered in chocolate.

Redwing went into the house, a triumphant smile on her face. Aria followed her, beaming.

They both sat down in two other armchairs. Ryuu had fallen asleep.

'Wake up.' said Redwing, shaking him. 'It's time for me to tell both of you my problem.'


	4. Redwing's Problem

Redwing seated herself and took a deep breath. The force in her gaze reminded Ryuu of somebody. Then she started her story.

"As I told you and the other guards, Ryuu, I am an elf from Tirannwn. I will not tell you personal information-such as my life there-but I _will_ tell you about my problem. You see, I have worried about this for many years. I have an uncle."

"An uncle?" asked Aria.

"Yes, an uncle. You wouldn't know his real name, but I believe that you humans call him _Nomad."_continued Redwing.

At this, Ryuu jumped up from his chair. _That _was who Redwing reminded him of; _Nomad._

"Nomad is your uncle? You mean the Nomad at Soul Wars? I bet you're suspicious of him, aren't you? Well, I am too! Is _that_ why you came here?" he shouted in excitement. Was Redwing's mission _his_ too?

Both Redwing and Aria stared at him, their mouths open. They looked so similar, Ryuu almost laughed_._ Then Redwing's expression turned agitated.

"I always _knew_ he was up to something. Now I have a human telling me that he's suspicious too. A _human_. Now I'm _sure_ uncle's doing something….." she continued muttering, staring at her hands the whole time.

Ryuu and Aria looked at her, concerned.

Then the elf spoke. "Yes, that is the story. I searched for two people brave enough to help me. I tried to get the dwarves and gnomes to help, but none were brave enough. I heard stories about you being one the king's best guard, Ryuu- and I heard stories about Aria's loyalty and bravery. So, I thought the three of us could go and confront Nomad together. However, this is _not_ an easy task. My uncle is very powerful, and we might all die."

Ryuu was starting to feel slightly scared now. Sure, he was the king's best guard, according to some other people- but that didn't mean he couldn't feel scared, right? He wondered if he should tell Redwing that he was probably the wrong person, and that another someone else should go instead.

Then he thought about how much time Redwing must have put into her search; and how she must be hoping that Aria and Ryuu would help her. He did not want to disappoint the elf after all her hard work.

Running his hand through his red hair, he said "I want to help you, Redwing. But will Aria come too?"

Aria nodded her head so hard that her blonde curls bounced up and down. "Yes!" she said, her brown eyes sparkling. "I'm coming too."

"Very well then." said Redwing. "We leave the day after tomorrow. In that time, gather your best food, weapons and anything else you might need." With that, she swept out the door, her cape flowing behind her. Ryuu and Aria were alone.

"Ummmm… So, are you going to start getting ready now?" Ryuu asked Aria.

"Yes, I'm going to start baking." said Aria. "I'm just worried because...well, I don't have any weapons or armour."

Ryuu didn't know what to say. He never _was_ good at consoling people or comforting them.

"I-I'm sure we can do something." He told her. "Maybe Redwing has something she can lend to you."She nodded, not looking very reassured.

Ryuu got up. "Well, I guess I had better go now." he said. "Er-Bye." He didn't really want to be alone with Aria. He didn't know what he would say.

"Bye." Aria said, rather glumly. Then she gave him a small smile and said, "Thank you for the flowers, really brightened up my day." He returned the smile and then slipped out the front door.

He wondered where he could get some good food that would heal a fair amount of health. Chicken and cabbage wouldn't-plus, he hated cabbage, even though his mother told him when he was a little boy "Eat your cabbage, and you will grow into a strong young man." He didn't feel that shrimp would help much either.

Then he remembered that some types of fish helped a lot. But the closest fishing place was in the Barbarian village, and he wasn't keen on going there. Then he realized that he had no other choice, so he took the path that lead to the village.

But unfortunately, when he reached, he bumped into a huge, burly barbarian woman.

"You want fight, ja?" she said, grinning savagely at him.

"No! I don't want fight!"he yelped, and ran off as fast as he could.

After a while, he turned around to make sure the woman was gone. He was glad that barbarians didn't leave their village. He had taken the path leading to Ice Mountain. He was quite sure that there was no food there, but it was a pleasant place to walk, and he might meet someone along the way who was willing to trade with him.

Now he could see the stout little dwarves in the distance, busily walking around with pickaxes in hand. He wondered if _they_ could help him, but discarded the thought immediately. They would probably only have bread and meat, which he could easily get himself, and only healed a small bit of health. Then, he saw a muscular, beefy adventurer coming his way. Ryuu's hopes lifted.

The adventurer was clearly a warrior. He wore rune armour with a Saradomin symbol on it. He carried a huge dragon sword, along with a shield. Ryuu thought that he could never lift something that heavy- he was a rather skinny sort of man. He wondered how people could think that he was the king's best guard.

He ran as quickly as he could to the man. "Excuse me, sir!" he gasped." Do you have any good healing food?"

The adventurer's eyes widened behind his helmet. Then he gave a loud, booming laugh. Wait a minute-that wasn't a man's voice. It was….

"I'm a woman." said the adventurer, taking off her helmet. Ryuu wondered _why_ he was meeting so many burly women today.

The adventurer smiled at him. Even though she was beefier than most other female adventurers, she had a kind face. "You want good food, eh? Well, I've got some Rocktails right here." She handed him a bag full of fish.

Ryuu had heard that getting these fish was difficult. You needed a high fishing level to get them, and a high cooking level to cook them. He opened his mouth to tell the adventurer to keep the fish, but she silenced him by waving her hand.

"Had these filling up my pack, and my bank's full." she said airily. "It's best that you keep 'em; I've got better food anyway." She gave him such a hard pat on the shoulder that his knees buckled. Then she continued on her way.

Ryuu knew that the fish were uncooked, but Aria could probably do that for him. She was almost level 99 at cooking. But he knew that Rocktails healed tons of health. As he looked through the bag, he got a surprise.

The adventurer had left a _rune dagger_ in it.

At first, he wondered why. Then, he remembered that she had a dragon longsword with her, even better for a warrior like herself.

Slowly, a grin came onto Ryuu's face. He lifted the dagger into the air, and it gleamed in the light of the setting sun.


	5. Last Day for Practice

"OUCH!" yelled Ryuu, screwing up his face in pain.

It was the afternoon after he had got his new dagger. He had decided to go to the empty house in Varrock, where the training dummies were, to practice with his new rune dagger-and also in the hope that someone would see it. But instead of people coming to marvel at it, all he got was a few bored looks-and now a stubbed toe.

While he was hacking away at a dummy, he had spun in a circle (just to make it look more important, of course) and hit his toe on the wall. He couldn't practice anymore now (to him, the stubbed toe was a mortal wound dealt by a huge Black Demon) so he decided to go and meet Aria. While he walked, he used a rather exaggerated limp-perhaps people would think that he had been in battle with a large, terrifying monster. But, again, he just got some funny looks from big, strong adventurers. He gave a long, sad, emotional sigh. How he wished he could be like them.

When he reached Aria's house, he knocked on the door. To his surprise, Aria opened it. He wondered where was.

"Um, hi." He said. "I just came to talk, since I have nothing else to do."

Aria smiled."Oh, do come in!" replied. Then her expression turned troubled." I want to talk to you about something, Ryuu."

Ryuu felt surprised. "Oh, yeah! Tell me about it."

They both walked in and sat on the comfortable armchairs. Then Aria spoke.

"Ryuu...Yesterday, Redwing-that was her name, right?-Redwing was telling us about Nomad and how she's suspicious of him. But the thing is- do we even _know_ what he's doing? We don't have any good evidence to start with. And also…I don't know _who_ Nomad even _is_."

First, Ryuu felt surprised. "But then-why didn't you tell me yesterday?"

"It would have looked silly."

Ryuu thought for a few moments. Then he brightened up. He knew what to do!

"I'll tell you who Nomad is!" he told Aria cheerfully. "He's this bald guy at that game called Soul Wars! And he wears a sort of muffler thing around his mouth so that he sounds like this!" He took an old scarf from the table next to him, covered his mouth with it and said, "Welkhum thoo Shole Worrhs."

Aria couldn't help giggling a bit. "But Ryuu…"

Ryuu didn't hear her; He was too busy trying to act like Nomad.

"And his eyes are all crinkly and squinty, like he's trying to look at a notice that's very far away." He squinted and looked all around him.

Aria gave another helpless giggle. "Ryuu…"

"And he carries a walking stick thing-I mean a staff."

Aria was looking very amused. "But Ryuu, I don't want to know what he looks like. I want more on his background, his personality, and _why _you're suspicious."

Okay. _That_ was hard. Then Ryuu said, "I don't know much about his background or personality, but his little imp, Zimberfizz, who Nomad likes killing every five seconds or so…."

Aria clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh, that's horrible!"

"He told me that Nomad's spending more time in his tent, and…well, just acting weird."

Aria laced her fingers together, deep in thought. Then she said, "Well, why don't you ask Redwing what _she _thinks? She didn't get a chance to explain much yesterday, because she got all worried and tense in between."

"Now _that's_ an idea!" exclaimed Ryuu." I'm going straight away!" He jumped up, gave Aria a quick hug, and tore out the front door. He barged into the Blue Moon Inn and raced up the stairs so quickly that, on the last step, he tripped and bumped his nose.

"Ouch." He groaned.

"Ryuu?" said a voice like the whistle of a gentle breeze, the quiet of a still night... Argh, why didn't the apothecary create something called, 'Anti-Poetic Potion', or a 'No Poet Brew'?

Ryuu looked up to see the Redwing's face staring down at him. She pulled him up and said "Are you all right?" Ryuu gave her a weak nod. She helped him to a chair in the corner and sat him down.

"What's wrong, Ryuu? Did you want something?" she asked.

Ryuu nodded. "I want your opinion on what Nomad's doing, Redwing."

Redwing's face turned pale. Then she pulled up another chair and sat in front of him. "I am going to give you a complete explanation." she said. "Do not interrupt me in between, or else I shall not tell you anything."

Ryuu nodded obediently. He couldn't help but feel slightly scared of Redwing.

"Think about this, Ryuu. The dark underbelly of Soul Wars is visible to anyone who looks hard enough: souls are collected and filtered through a giant obelisk; avatars of both nature and destruction are called into being and then slaughtered; and a single man benefits from the exploits of dozens of adventurers." She raised one finger. "And that one man is Nomad."

Ryuu nodded. He was listening very carefully.

"He has an imp, Zimberfizz-"

"I know him."

"I told you not to interrupt! His imp Zimberfizz has been contacting me, telling me what his suspicions are. Since Zimberfizz is probably the closest person to Nomad-he is his familiar-I can trust what he says."

"Even if he's an _imp_."

"Yes, even if he is an imp." Redwing paused for a minute, and then asked "Ryuu, if you are a Varrock guard, then _when_ did you have time to go to Soul Wars?"

Ryuu turned a bit pink. "I-uh, I sometimes take a day off." Redwing glared at him.

"Elf guards are not so lax with their duties. I wonder why you are called the king's best guard." She told him.

"Yeah, I sometimes wonder why too."

They sat in silence. Then, Ryuu suddenly remembered his dagger. He had forgotten to show it to Aria. Oh well, he would show her later. He pulled it out and waved it in front of Redwing.

"I got this yesterday! I'm going to defeat Nomad with it!" he mimed a stab, imagining Nomad falling at his feet and begging for mercy. When Redwing looked at it, she snorted with contempt.

"Do you think you can defeat my uncle with _that_? It won't help a single bit!"

"You sound very proud of your uncle." Redwing turned red with anger.

"Don't say that if you want me to give you a better weapon." She said.

Ryuu looked at her, surprised. She rummaged through her pack and pulled out a shiny, red weapon.

"This is a Dragon dagger. Smear some poison on it." She took out a small green bottle and handed both things to him. "Stab attacks are Nomad's weakness." Then, she got up.

"Where are you going?" asked Ryuu.

Redwing's lips curved into a smile. "I didn't think that Aria would have any good weapons or armour, so I am going to lend her some. I suggest you go and start practicing with your dagger."

She strode out the door.

Ryuu grinned down at the dagger. He was getting better weapons every day!

Time for more practice with imaginary Black Demons.


	6. Quest Start

Ryuu jumped out of bed. Time to go questing.

He had the perfect food and weapon- but what about armour?

No need to worry! On a stand in his house, Ryuu had an old suit of Saradomin armour. It had been his grandfather's, and he had gone through a great deal of trouble to get it. His mother had told him not to touch it until he was older-but both his parents were gone now, and he was a fine young man of 21, with spiky red hair, blue eyes and a winning smile (in his opinion). He had never got a chance to wear it before, since all Varrock guards wore the standard steel armour with the Varrock crest on it.

He put the armour into his pack, wondering _how_ it seemed to have a never-ending bottom. Maybe it was of Elvish make. He would have to ask Redwing later. He had permission from the King to go on this quest, telling him that it might 'decide the fate of RuneScape' and that they had 'rune-shattering evidence.'

He put the now-cooked Rocktails in too- he had gone to Aria's house for a second time yesterday, after remembering that they were uncooked. He had smeared poison onto the tip of the Dragon dagger already. He also tied a cape around his neck, just as many heroes did. All set!

He ran down the steps and into the garden. He had worn a simple shirt and trousers to save energy for running. It was 4 o' clock in the morning, and the sun hadn't risen yet. Everything looked dark, and a cold wind blew, which was rather strange since it was only Raktuber. Excitement started growing in the pit of Ryuu's stomach. This was certainly an adventure.

He could see Redwing in the distance, her cloak billowing around her. She was wearing black mage robes, with a divided skirt. She was wearing a hood too. Ryuu ran up to her.

"Hi, Redwing! Where's Aria?" he said excitedly.

Redwing remained silent. She looked worried and rather tense. "Aria is just getting ready. She will join us in a few minutes." She finally said.

"Oh." Ryuu wondered why the elf was looking so bothered, but he decided it best not to ask. Just then, Aria ran up. She wore green dragon hide armour, and her curly blonde hair was tucked under a coif. She carried a crossbow in one hand, and in her quiver there were Ruby bolts.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. "Should we get going?"

Redwing gave a silent nod. Then she pulled something out of her pack. Ryuu gasped.

It was a long, black staff, with beautifully painted pictures of snarling wolves on it. Ryuu had never seen such a staff in his life.

"What?" snapped Redwing, glaring at him. She seemed unusually brusque today…..

"Um, nothing. Let's go!" he said, trying to sound cheerful. The trio set off, leaving Varrock behind. They were almost to the Barbarian village when a man crossed their path.

It was Smith.

Ryuu didn't recognize him, since he hadn't been there when Redwing had attacked him. But before he could say anything, Redwing jumped in front of both him and Aria, a snarl on her face. She was in an unusual fighting position- the hand holding the staff behind her back, and the empty one in front of her chest, curled into a fist.

"What do _you_ want?" she growled, her green eyes blazing.

Smith smirked, stroking his ponytail. "Oh, I just wanted to wish dear Aria good luck," he said smugly. "My brother wanted to wish _you _good luck as well, but, unfortunately, mother made him stay to water the plants."

Redwing scowled. "Why are you up so early? How did you know where we're going?" Smith laughed mockingly.

"I have my sources. Well then, I had better leave now, unless you've got something else to tell me."

As a matter of fact, Redwing _did_ have something to tell him. Quick as lightning, she pointed the staff at Smith. A blast of blue light threw him off his feet. He sprang up, howling, and ran back to Varrock.

"Let's go," said Redwing in gruff voice.

"Who was that?" whispered Ryuu to Aria. She told him about the time when Smith had come to bother her, and how Redwing had punched him.

When Ryuu heard all this, he felt terrible. This man had been troubling Aria, and he, Ryuu, had just fallen asleep. What sort of a friend was he?

These thoughts raced in his head as they walked through the Barbarian village. He recognized the Barbarian woman who he had bumped into the other day, and wished that they would walk a bit faster. As a safety precaution, he took out his helmet and pulled it down over his head.

They turned right after exiting the saw a ruined building with a bunch of coffins in it.

"There it is," said Redwing. She was pointing at a yellow portal. When they were right in front of it, Redwing told Aria and Ryuu to go in first. When Ryuu asked her why, she slapped her head in frustration.

"Fool! Just go in!"

Ryuu still didn't understand, but stepped in anyway, Aria following. When Redwing had come through the portal, she took the lead and walked over to Zimberfizz.

"'Wotcha, guv'na!" he exclaimed. Redwing immediately clamped a hand over his little red mouth.

"Shhhh!" she whispered. She knelt down and said something in his pointy ear, and a flash of recognition appeared on his face. He grinned.

"So it's you, the niece o' 'is highness!" Redwing had to cover his mouth again. She whispered fiercely in his ear, and he seemed to understand. Then he started talking to her, and with each word, she seemed to turn paler. Then she stood up and faced Aria and Ryuu.

"Zimberfizz has told me everything," she said in a low voice. She furtively glanced around her before continuing. "Nomad is up to something."

"Summint _evil_!" said the diminutive red figure next to her.

"Evil?" asked Aria.

"Well, that's his thing, ain't it? Evil this, evil that. He's gotta be up to summint!"

"Hey, you! Get back to work!" shouted an angry voice nearby.

Zimberfizz jumped. "Oh no! I mean, yes master! At once!"

A man walked up to him. He didn't seem to notice the other three.

Nomad.

"Right, take care of the battleground for a while," he said. "I have…matters to attend to."

"Gotcha!"

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'yes, master'!"

"Hmmm," muttered Nomad suspiciously. Then, he stalked off towards his tent.

Ryuu noticed that Redwing was shaking slightly. He had never seen her look _afraid_ before. Well, she had every right to be, since she had just seen her evil, crinkly-eyed uncle. As soon as Nomad left, Zimberfizz perked up.

"Right, with him gone, we can get to work. Have a butchers in his tent and see if you can find anyfing tasty."

Ryuu felt a bit confused. "What did he say?"

"He meant that we should search Nomad's tent," said Aria. "Let's go and have a look."

The trio went over to the tent and ducked inside. After searching for over ten minutes, Ryuu suddenly exclaimed with delight.

"Hey! I think I can see a trapdoor under the bedding in there!" he said excitedly.

The three adventurers looked at each other. One of them would have to go down. They decided that Redwing shouldn't go down, as her Nomad might recognize her. Ryuu didn't want Aria to go down either-he felt that it was too dangerous. In the end, it seemed as though Ryuu should be the one to go.

"Good luck," whispered Aria, as Ryuu apprehensively climbed down into the gloom.

When he reached the bottom, he squeezed himself into a small corner, hoping the shadows would hide him. It was a torch lit place, and shivers ran down Ryuu's spine. It was _not_ very cozy. Suddenly, he got a start when he saw a dark figure dart past him with inhuman speed. It was Nomad. Ryuu was suddenly very glad that he had chosen such a good hiding place. He dared to peer around the wall that was separating him from what Nomad was doing.

He got the shock of his life.

In front of Nomad were three men. They seemed to be an Elite Dark warrior, mage and ranger.

"I do hope that this isn't all that's left of you. I was at least hoping for a challenge," said Nomad.

The warrior stepped forward, glaring at the man in front of him. "I'll give you a challenge, traitor!"

He stabbed at Nomad, but the blade didn't injure him. Nomad laughed.

"Is it my turn, now?" he said mockingly. With a movement so fast Ryuu couldn't see it, Nomad finished off the warrior. The mage started trembling.

"I didn't sign up for this!" he yelped.

"Really?" asked Nomad. "How unfortunate for you!"

The mage started shaking even more violently. "Gods save me!" A faint blue glow surrounded him.

Nomad laughed again. "Ha! Your prayers won't protect you from me, boy!" He pointed his staff at the mage, who immediately died. The ranger, who was the only one remaining, glowered at Nomad.

"Fool! The master will flay the flesh from your bones when he hears of this treachery." He got ready to teleport, but Nomad interrupted him.

"Just where do you think you're going?" He pointed the staff at the ranger and, to Ryuu's surprise, turned him to stone, stopping him from teleporting. When the stone seemed to melt off, the ranger was shaking as badly as the dead mage.

"What? No! You can't do this to me!" he shouted, panicking

Nomad laughed evilly. "Let's see how much punishment you can take!"

The ranger tried shooting his arrows, but they didn't hurt Nomad in the slightest. He seemed to be charging up for an attack. Then, he pointed his staff at the ranger, and a blue light shot out from it. The ranger fell to his knees and died.

"All too easy," said Nomad. He ran back to the entrance. Before Ryuu had a chance to hide himself, Nomad spotted him. Ryuu tried giving him an adorable smile, but Nomad just narrowed his eyes at him. They looked cold, dark and empty.

"Intriguing. Of all the assassins they could have sent, I would never have expected it to be _you_."

Ryuu felt shocked and rather hurt. "Whoa, now. I'm no assassin!" he said.

"Oh, really? Then how is it you came to be here?"

"Zimberfizz sent me here to see where you went."

Nomad looked outraged. "That nosy little…..I'll deal with him later. As for you: turn around, leave, and forget you were ever here. My work cannot suffer any more interruptions."

Ryuu eyed the staff in Nomad's hands rather nervously. Then, he realized that it had exactly the same design as Redwing's staff. "What work? What are you up to down here?" he asked curiously.

Nomad glared at him angrily. "Drop it. Leave NOW. If I see you down here again, I guarantee it will be the last mistake you ever make." He teleported away.

Ryuu was feeling rather shaken. Nomad was behaving very suspiciously. Then, something in the corner caught his eye. It was adventuring equipment!He went over to have a look, finding some rope, a hammer, a herring and a pickaxe. He shrugged and put all the items in his pack. Then, he climbed up the ladder to the world above.

Redwing and Aria were waiting for him. They bombarded him with questions, and he told them about what he had seen. After he had finished explaining, they went back to Zimberfizz.

Ryuu ran up to him and said, "I found Nomad under his tent; there's a whole ruined temple down there!"

"Blimey! Better get it sorted sharp-like, before we all end up brown bread!" exclaimed the imp.

"Er, what?" Ryuu could barely understand what the imp meant.

"Oh, you absolute plum duff, you need me to spell it out for ya?"

"Well, yes, actually."

"Look, if he's got a secret lair down there, then he must be up to no good! You need to get in there and put a stop to whatever he's up to!" explained Zimberfizz.

Ryuu whimpered. "He made it quite clear to me that I was not to go back in there."

Zimberfizz sighed. "Well, he's bound to say that, ain't he? Go on, have a poke around down there and see what he's really up to."

"But why? Why can't we just leave him be?"

Zimberfizz was looking very frustrated. "Fine, don't go adventuring down there if you don't want to. Nobody's forcing you to. Just don't come crying to me when the world ends and it's all your fault for doing nothing!"

Redwing joined the conversation. "Zimberfizz is right, Ryuu. We should find out what my uncle is up to."

"Oh, all right."

"Well," said Redwing. "I suppose that it is time for us to truly start our quest."


	7. Visions from the Past

The three adventurers went back to Nomad's tent, with Ryuu animatedly telling them about his adventure.

"Whoa!" said Aria, laughing. "You're lucky you didn't land on Nomad's head!" Ryuu laughed as well.

"Yeah, if I hadn't been fast enough, he would've landed on _my_ head!" he told her.

Redwing was still looking grumpy. "Maybe if he had fallen on your head, you would be a bit smarter," she said grouchily.

Ryuu couldn't understand why she was acting like this. Maybe it was the heat? But no, he could tell from her expression that she was thinking about something, something that gave her bad memories.

"Hey, don't worry," he said cheerfully. "We'll find Nomad and kill him if we can!" That just seemed to make her look even _more_ worried_._

"_Leave me alone, Ryuu."_

The guard jumped as he heard Redwing's voice ring in his head. But suddenly, his full mind seemed to cloud over. All the sounds and voices vanished around him. He didn't know what was going on. Was he ill? Was he dead? He could barely think. In his mind's eye, an image seemed to be forming. It was a little girl, maybe eight or nine, walking on a rocky cliff. It was a beautiful area, with lush forests and birds chirping. But the girl was what caught his attention. She had short, dark hair, and bright green eyes.

She looked shockingly like Redwing. No, she _was_ Redwing. But why was he seeing this? What was going on?

"Nobody cares about me," the girl muttered in a heavily accented voice. He decided to just pay attention to this vision instead of worrying about it. Then, suddenly, young Redwing swung around. Behind her was a woman with long, straight blonde hair. Her blue eyes were hard and cruel, and she wore a smirk as she gazed down at Redwing. She wore a strange sword on her hip, and was wearing steel armour. Hanging around her neck was the symbol of Zamorak, the god of chaos. Ryuu could tell that she was human, as her ears were round and her eyes were round and level, not slanted like Redwing's.

"Ah, I've been searching for you, little elf girl," she told the small figure in front of her. She slowly drew her sword out of its sheath.

Redwing's eyes widened. She murmured something in a language that was probably Elvish.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "I know nothing of your confusing language. However, I do know of your powers over magic. This could make you a dangerous foe for Zamorakians, since you follow a…_different_ god."

Redwing looked completely confused. She took a step back. The woman smiled nastily.

"Because of this, I have to destroy you. Nothing personal." She swung her sword at Redwing.

Ryuu was appalled. Who would do such a thing? But just as the sharp blade was about to hit the girl, an energy shield appeared around her. She shouted something at the woman.

The woman snarled. "Feel the wrath of Carissa, warrior of Zamorak!"

She swung her sword so hard, it broke through the barrier. The blade cut Redwing's cheek. The girl did not yell or scream, but glared at Carissa with silent fury. Even then, Ryuu could see her weakening. She swayed and staggered. With a shock, Ryuu realized that the blade had been poisoned. All of a sudden, the young elf collapsed and fell at Carissa's feet.

Ryuu gasped as he woke up on the floor. What had he just seen? Why had he seen it? What did it mean?

Then, he heard Aria's alarmed voice.

"Ryuu! Wake up, Ryuu!"

"I'm fine," he mumbled, rubbing his head. He had a nice-sized knot where he had hit it, and it hurt quite a lot.

Redwing sat down in front of him. His eyes shot to her left cheek, where the girl in his vision had been cut. Sure enough, he saw a long, white scar.

"What is it?" she asked him. It felt strange to see the adult Redwing in front of him. Was the vision one of her secrets from the past?

He took a deep breath. "I had a vision."

Redwing's look of concern turned to one of interest. "Did you, now? Tell me about it."

He felt reluctant about telling anybody about the vision, especially Redwing, but he couldn't hide it. He told the two women about the girl and the woman called Carissa. A tear ran down Aria's face when he told them how Carissa had cut the girl on her cheek.

"What sort of a woman would_ do_ such a thing?" she whispered. But Ryuu wanted to see Redwing's reaction.

The elf had turned deathly pale, so that she looked more like a specter of her original self. She subconsciously traced a finger down her scar. Ryuu tried to pretend he hadn't noticed. Redwing had not told them about this, so he wouldn't force her to.

She stood abruptly, hiding her emotions behind an impassive mask. "Interesting, but now is not the time to share stories. We should be going."

She turned around and walked off towards the tent, gripping her staff so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Aria and Ryuu silently followed.

Aria gave him a small smile. "She's a mysterious one, isn't she?" Ryuu nodded, grateful for her opinion. He was glad that she had come too, since he had known her for a long time and felt more relaxed around her.

When they went inside the tent, Redwing wasn't there.

"She must have gone down already," said Ryuu. The trapdoor was open.

The two climbed down the ladder. Redwing was waiting impatiently at the bottom.

"Took you long enough," she muttered, and took the lead when they were all standing on the cold stone floor.

To the north of the room, there was an arcane doorway. The three walked toward it. Redwing tried putting her hand through it, but there was an invisible wall of energy blocking the entrance.

"I can't get through," she told the other two. "These conduits seem to be passing a barrier across the doorway."She pointed at two cables running along the floor and connected to the doorway.

"So Nomad is inside there?" asked Ryuu. Redwing nodded.

"So how do we get rid of the barrier?" asked Aria.

Redwing studied the cables. "These conduits are getting power from other sources. We will follow each cable and then destroy both. We will follow the one leading toward the west first."

They followed the cable and reached a ladder. Redwing climbed up first, followed by Ryuu and Aria.

When they reached the top, they were in a large room. There were a bunch of huge blocks with little streams of water flowing beneath them, a large black machine, and for some odd reason, flowers.

"Why does _Nomad_ want flowers in this place?" muttered Ryuu. His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in his back. "YOW!"

Behind him was a sort of ghost. It had just attacked him when he hadn't been looking! Ryuu felt his back angrily. It was sore and hurt a LOT. He glared at the ghost.

"Oh boy, you sure are asking for trouble," he told it, trying to sound menacing. The ghost just stared back at him with its pure white eyes. Redwing whirled around at the noise.

"A spectral attendant!" she shouted. She pointed the staff at the attendant, who turned to dust immediately. There were still three more, floating towards the three adventurers.

"Ryuu, hold them off!" shouted Redwing. "Aria and I will solve this puzzle." She pointed at the blocks and streams of water.

"That's a _puzzle_?" asked Ryuu. Redwing nodded. Ryuu shrugged. Fighting monsters was more exciting, anyway. He stabbed at one and it recoiled, making strange hissing noises. Ryuu grinned. This was what he called fun!

Meanwhile, Redwing was examining the blocks. They looked plain enough from below, but what if there was something at the top?

"Aria," she told the ranger. "I'm going to see what's at the top of this block. It might be important."

"All right. Want me to give you a boost?" asked Aria. Redwing shook her head.

She took a few steps back. Then, with a marvelous running leap, she landed on top of the block. She gave the surprised woman below her an amused grin.

"Let's start, shall we?" she said.

**Hello! I do realize that these are my first author notes for this story. I'm sorry if the chapter was unsatisfactory- I was unwell for quite some time, and I couldn't really think of anything. My summer hols are over now, so I might not get that much time to plan the next chapter. I plan in a rather unusual way- I draw out the chapters, the character and the places. Mostly, they're just little stick figures, but sometimes I do them in detail.**

**I also wanted to add a pronunciation guide.**

**Ryuu- Ree-oo**

**Aria- Eh-ree-ah**

**Fiery Rivera- Fy-eh-ree Ri-veh-rah**

**Renwyn- Ren-win**

**Redwing- Red-wing (pretty easy, right?)**

**Nomad- No-mad**

**Zimberfizz- Zim-ber-fizz**

**I'm sorry this has been put up so late- you might have gotten used to pronouncing the names differently. But that's all right; it doesn't really affect the story, does it?**

**Special thanks to Kook and WaterBudget for being awesome readers and reviewers! This story has only continued because of you two.**

**Thank you! The next chapter will be up soon!**

**-Noodle**


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